You – Helping LE

GATLINBURG, Tenn. – Chris Turner normally wouldn’t drive into the remote Tennessee mountains just to deliver a pizza. The one time he did, he came upon a scene that drained the color from his face and made him “numb from head to toe” — a woman with her hands tied, silently begging him to call 911.

It was no joke, and Turner, 32, rushed to a nearby house and made the call. Police say the woman was jogging in her Atlanta neighborhood when she was whisked away by a man who frequented her business. Authorities say he drove her off, raped her and held her captive inside a cabin. The 24-year-old woman was rescued by Sevier County deputies on Tuesday evening because of Turner’s quick thinking.

Turner told The Associated Press on Friday that he noticed the woman pop up from a couch while the suspect signed the credit card slip.

“While I was standing in the door all you could see was the back of the couch,” Turner said. “And then she popped over the back of the couch and showed me that her hands were bound. And she was just mouthing, ‘Please call 911.'”

Turner at first thought it was a joke. “When I realized what was going on, I went numb from head to toe and turned pale white,” he said.Turner tried to look calm. “Have a nice day. Enjoy your food,” he told the suspect, who tipped him $5 on a $37.69 bill. Then he rushed back to his van, where his wife, Nease, was waiting behind the wheel.

“Go, go, go!” he told her.

The cabin location was out of cell phone range. So they drove to a nearby house and called police. They waited to make sure the suspect didn’t flee. Then Turner stayed to see the man arrested and the victim taken away in an ambulance. “I wanted to make sure she was OK,” he said. (continued)http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090530/ap_on_re_us/us_rape_rescue

One Response to You – Helping LE

Michael Valentine holds his Chihuahua, Delilah, whose bark alerted him and his wife, Terry, to a car in the driveway of an abandoned house across the street.

A Gaston County couple who gave authorities the tip that led them to the man identified as the Gaffney serial killer will get a $30,000 reward.

The Crime Stoppers of Cherokee County’s board of directors voted unanimously to award the money to Michael and Terry Valentine of Dallas, N.C.

The Valentines called police about a suspected burglary taking place across from their residence in the predawn hours of July 6. Patrick Tracy Burris, 41, of Lincoln County was shot to death by police when they tried to take him into custody for a parole violation.

Police say that on June 27, Burris killed peach farmer Kline Cash, 63, and then killed four others near Gaffney over the next five days.

Crime Stoppers is authorized to award up to $2,000 for solved felony and misdemeanor cases or the arrest of a fugitive. Also, the organization can award up to $5,000 for crimes of exceptional circumstances.

Additional reward money in the Gaffney case was pledged by individuals, corporations and churches, according to a Crime Stoppers press release.